Trigger Warning: This article discusses miscarriage and baby loss, which may be upsetting to some readers.
Meghan Markle has opened up about the heartbreak of losing a child, sharing her experience of miscarriage during a recent episode of her podcast.
The Duchess of Sussex had previously written about her loss in a 2020 article for the New York Times.
She recalled how, after feeling a “sharp cramp” while changing her son Archie’s nappy, she learned she had suffered a miscarriage.
“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” she wrote.
“I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right.”
She continued: “Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears.”
“Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.”
In a recent interview, Meghan opened up about her loss again, discussing the experience on her Confessions of a Female Founder podcast with Girls Who Code founder Reshma Saujani.
“I’ll bring this up if you’re comfortable talking about it, because I know you’ve spoken publicly,” the former Suits actress said.
“I’ve spoken about the miscarriage that we experienced, and I think in some parallel way, you have to learn to detach from the thing that you have so much promise and hope for, and to be able to be ok at a certain point to let something go, something that you planned to love for a long time.”
Reshma responded: “I feel like you’re reading my diary, that’s really insightful.”
This isn’t the first time Meghan has discussed her experience with motherhood on her podcast. In a recent episode with Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, Meghan opened up about suffering from pre-eclampsia after giving birth.
Pre-eclampsia is a serious condition that can develop during or after childbirth, characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine.
“We both had very similar experiences – though we didn’t know each other at the time – with postpartum, and we both had preeclampsia. Postpartum preeclampsia,” Meghan shared.
“It’s so rare and so scary. And you’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly. And in the quiet, you’re still trying to show up for people – mostly for your children – but those things are huge medical scares.”
In response, Whitney said she would “never forget” the images of Meghan shortly after Archie’s birth.
“I mean, I’ll never forget the image of you after you delivered Archie, and the whole world was waiting for his debut.
“I was either just becoming or about to become a new mom, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, how is this woman doing this? How is this woman putting on heels and going and debuting a child in this, you know, beautiful outfit in front of the entire world?'”